Critics attack David Dewhurst call to jail

Critics of David Dewhurst are accusing the Texas lieutenant governor of trying to use his government position in order to get a relative out of jail.

A relative of the Texas Republican, whom Dewhurst’s spokesman identified as Dewhurst’s niece, was arrested Aug. 3 for shoplifting. That same evening, Dewhurst called police and asked to talk to the highest-ranking officer about getting the relative out of jail, according to a recording of the phone call obtained by NBC DFW.

Text Size

-

+

reset

“What I would like to do, if you would explain it to me, sergeant, what I need to do is to arrange for getting her out of jail this evening, and you can proceed with whatever you think is proper,” Dewhurst said on the call.

During the 12-minute call, Dewhurst mentioned several times that he is the lieutenant governor and offered to have the Texas Department of Public Safety director call police to vouch for him.

“Sergeant, you don’t know me, but I am every year the No. 1 pick of all of the law enforcement agencies within Texas. The No. 1 pick,” Dewhurst said. “And I’m a supporter of you. You don’t know it, but I’m a supporter of you. I’m a supporter of everybody in law enforcement. And I want you to do whatever is the proper thing.”

At the end of the call, Dewhurst admitted he might not be able to do anything, “but it’s whatever the law says.”

“I intend to jump into this and see what can be done to prevent this very nice lady, through a miscarriage of justice, from spending the night in jail,” Dewhurst said. “Now, I may not be able to do anything, but it’s whatever the law says.”

Dewhurst spokesman Travis Considine said in a statement that Dewhurst acted “as a concerned family member.”

“David acted as a concerned family member in an attempt to acquire information on how to post bail for his niece while reiterating multiple times in the full conversation that law enforcement follow their normal protocols and procedures,” Considine said.

The Texas Democratic Party released a statement saying the incident shows Dewhurst “thinks he is beyond the rules and laws.”

“Once again, Lt. Gov. Dewhurst has shown that he thinks he is beyond the rules and laws that govern regular Texans,” Gilberto Hinojosa, chairman of the Texas Democratic Party, said in a statement to the Houston Chronicle. “His call to police shows a clear attempt to use his political position for influence, intimidation and preferential treatment.”

Republican state Sen. Dan Patrick of Houston, who is planning to challenge Dewhurst for lieutenant governor next year, blasted the phone call as an abuse of power.

“The fact that David Dewhurst believes he and his family are above the law is the height of arrogance and recklessness,” Patrick said in a statement. “This blatant abuse of power would be stunning coming from any elected official. However, it is particularly disturbing coming from the Lieutenant Governor of Texas.”